This invention relates to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly, to vacuum cleaners which are particularly well adapted for picking up and collecting asbestos fibers, and the like.
It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel vacuum cleaner.
Another object is to afford a novel vacuum cleaner for effectively collecting asbestos fibers, and the like.
A further object is to afford a novel vacuum cleaner of the aforementioned type, from which asbestos fibers, and the like, which have been collected may be readily, safely and efficiently disposed of.
It has been found that the presence of certain materials, such as, for example, asbestos fibers, in the air breathed by people, is deleterious to the health of those people. In fact, certain regulations, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of the United States of America, have provisions strictly limiting the permissible concentration of certain materials in air, which will be breathed by people. For example, the standards for handling asbestos fibers as laid down under the aforementioned OSHA, presently are that the allowable eight hour time weighted average exposure shall not exceed five fibers longer than 5 micrometers per cubic centimeter of air, and this is expected to be reduced shortly to two such fibers per cubic centimeter of air--the maximum concentration for exposure not to exceed ten such fibers per cubic centimeter of air at any time.
In certain operations, such as, for example, in brake-service work on automotive vehicles, asbestos fibers are present in and on the parts of the equipment, such as, for example, brake drums, or the like, being worked on by a mechanic, or the like, as well as on the surrounding supporting surface, such as, for example, the floor of a garage, or the like. Asbestos fibers are commonly embodied in brake linings, and the like, and the wear of such brake linings, during operation of automotive vehicles, causes the aforementioned accumulations of the fibers to occur. During such brake-repair work, such accumulated fibers are displaced from surfaces on which they are disposed and freed to float in the air adjacent to those surfaces, and which air such mechanics, and other people in the vicinity may breath. It is an important object of the present invention to afford a vacuum cleaner which is operable to effectively remove such asbestos fibers, and the like, from such surfaces, in a manner effective to prevent the fibers from being present in the surrounding air.
The aforementioned picking up or accumulation of materials, such as aforementioned asbestos fibers, is only part of the problem. Another problem is the disposal of the thus accumulated or collected fibers. In fact, there are regulations, such as, for example, regulations under the aforementioned OSHA, as to how such disposal must be accomplished. Commonly, such regulations require that the accumulated asbestos fibers be placed in a nonporous container, such as, for example, a bag made of a suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, and the container then be effectively sealed to prevent the escape of such fibers therefrom during handling and transporting of the containers to the disposal location. It is a further important object of the present invention to afford a novel vacuum cleaner which is operable to accumulate and collect asbestos fibers and the like, in such a manner that the thus collected fibers may be readily disposed of in the aforementioned manner.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel vacuum cleaner wherein materials picked up thereby are primarily accumulated and collected in a bag that has an inlet opening, and which bag is closed throughout its surface, except at the inlet opening, and which opening, in the operation of the vacuum cleaner is effectively sealed to the inlet connection of the cleaner.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel vacuum cleaner of the aforementioned type which embodies, in addition to the aforementioned filter bag, a plurality of other filters so as to afford a fail-safe construction to protect against discharge from the cleaner of asbestos fibers, or the like, which have been drawn into the cleaner, in the event of failure, by rupture, or the like, of the filter bag or one of the other filters; and, also, to afford a filtering system which is highly efficient in filtering from the air drawn into the vacuum cleaner particulate matter, even including minute dust particles, and the like, prior to discharge of the air from the cleaner.
Vacuum cleaners embodying filter bags of the type embodied in the preferred form of my present invention have been heretofore known in the art. In fact, vacuum cleaners of the type embodying the individual filters embodied in the preferred form of my invention have been heretofore known in the art. In addition, vacuum cleaners embodying a plurality of filters therein have been heretofore known in the art, being shown, for example, in Lagerstrom U.S. Pat. No. 2,721,625, Glidden U.S. Pat. No. 2,785,767 and Okan U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,316. It is to be observed that, in addition to embodying a plurality of filters, the aforementioned Lagerstrom patent No. 2,721,625 and Okan Pat. No. 3,358,316 each embodies a filter bag connected to the inlet connection of the cleaners disclosed therein, with the bag being closed throughout its surface except at the aforementioned connection with the inlet connector. However, it is to be observed that vacuum cleaners of the aforementioned type, which embody the individual filters of the type embodied in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and vacuum cleaners of the type embodying a plurality of filters, such as, for example, the vacuum cleaners shown in the aforementioned three patents, commonly have had certain inherant disadvantages, such as, for example, being inefficient in the removal of particulate matter from air passing through the cleaners; being so constructed that it is difficult to empty from the cleaner particulate matter which has been accumulated therein; being complicated in construction and operation; being difficult and expensive to manufacture; or being ineffective and inefficient in operation, and the like. It is another object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel vacuum cleaner of the aforementioned type which is practical and efficient in operation, and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.